Company ran double its authorised size of fleet
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• A company that operated twice its authorised fleet without authority for almost three months escaped with a warning at a Cambridge disciplinary inquiry
DOT traffic examiner Ronald Davidson said that Lloyd Fraser (Logistics) held a licence for nine vehicles and 13 trailers based at Peterborough. A further nine vehicles the company had interim authority to operate from 22 April had been regularly operated since 1 February "It is astonishing," said Eastern Deputy Traffic Commissioner Frances Burton. "I cannot understand how it could possibly have happened in a company of this size."
Operations manager Paul Meaney said they had gained a new contract in January Initially they had been uncertain whether the operation should be based at Nottingham or Peterborough and he had been under the mistaken impression they had a period of time to transfer vehicles from ma. centre to another.
Once the decision was made to base the operation at Peterborough, he immediately applied for interim authority. He had also been under the mistaken impression that they could carry on operating once he had applied for interim authority. He agreed that the vehicles were brand new and had not been transferred from Nottingham.
Burton said that it was not a mistake, or an error or judgement, but a criminal offence. She had difficulty in understanding the confusion when Meaney was a CPC holder and she could not understand how such a mistake could be made.
Warning the company, Burton said it could not afford another mistake. However, she increased the authorisation at the existing Peterborough depot to 20 vehicles and 20 trailers, and granted authority for the operation of 20 vehicles and 10 trailers from a second depot at Peterborough.